On Entering First Grade

Brandon started first grade today! I'm so proud. I think he is, too. While he hasn't wished summer never happened, like a friend's little boy, he is happy to be back in school.

Yesterday was our last truly free day of the summer. I didn't sleep well on Monday night, probably because I knew I needed to wake early to take Caitlin in for her first day of school. So yesterday I wanted to sleep in! I'll be getting up at 6:00 daily, and getting the kids up before 7:00 am to get ready for school. The kids, of course, decided to be rise early, around 7:00 am. I heard them playing quietly in Caitlin's room. Still wanting to sleep, I softly shut the door to my room, and got another hour and half before the kids came in, hungry for breakfast! Amazing! We all went to the pool yesterday afternoon/evening to swim, and to wear them out! With Brian gone, I'm worn out by 6:00 pm. The pool was followed by Brandon's favorite dinner of Alfredo chicken with pasta, and some edamame on the side. The kids were asleep by 8:15.

We woke up bright and early. The late bell at school rings at 7:55 am. Bleah. And both kids have to get ready now. It's not usually an issue, but little Miss Independent, aka Caitlin, can make mountains out of molehills while getting dressed and during breakfast. We were out the door at 7:38, and still barley managed to get down to the lower playground, all the way in the back of the school, to line up by the time the bell rang. The hoards of kids and parents were hard to get through. I hope it settles down soon! Brandon was so happy to find his friends and get in line. I didn't expect any tears, from him or me, so I was quite surprised to feel some welling up in my eyes as Brandon headed off to his classroom. This is the last day of this stage -the end of raising my kids as I know. The end of having them home all time.

I know I'm not done raising them, by any means, but my role is changing. Brandon's life will be influenced by his friends, good or bad, and I'm going to have to learn to adapt my parenting style around that. Brian and I will have to be more vigilant about reinforcing our Godly and family values while not being too critical of his friends. We experienced a bit of this over the summer as Brandon was heavily influenced by a new friend, to the point of having nightmares because of this friend's obsession with all things shark, ghost, and skeletons, and an almost complete lack of parental supervision.

But for now, I'm just going to enjoy the first day of school. Caitlin went to her school, and I got to do the grocery shopping without yelling. The house was eerily quiet, but only for a while. I don't think I'll have any problem adapting to that part of my new life!